Player/Team Spotlights Not Working (1 Viewer)

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

The new approach this year bucketing all player spotlights into a team forum is not working. Few teams have more than two or three posts, most forums haven't been entered since June.

Still time to do something about it FBG. This was an extremely valuable part of the forum, IMO.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

It was a strange decision. If I'm looking for information on Roddy White, i don't want to have to sift through 3 pages of people pretending to be doctors diagnosing Julio's foot.

 

[koreansteve]

TheDirtyWord has done a great job. My issue with the Team approach is that...if I'm going to post, I need to go through 6+ players, coach and o-line changes, analyze everything, and write down a huge report. I understand it helps for a more comprehensive look at things, but it takes a long time (30+ min) to put together a competent post. That's a bit much for a hobby that I do for free. And it doesn't facilitate good discussion because there is too much to digest in each post.

The individual player highlights were easier because people could analyze specific players at length...backed up by numbers. Andre Ellington for example. In order to be above Stacy, Bush, etc, you have to have him above 190 carries or so. Will he get to this number? He did great with 118 carries last year. The O-line is improved, but how much, and Jonathan Cooper maybe isn't as far along as hoped. Will Dwyer/Taylor take a bigger piece than expected. How close to that 5.5 ypc figure can Ellington come with closer to 190 carries? Should he expect 50+ receptions again? Will he be used at the goal-line? Is there even an outside chance, now that he's bulked up, that he could turn into a top 10 guy with 250+ carries/season?

...but when you see a giant team post, analyzing 6-8 players, my brain is overloaded, and I post "good work TheDirtyWord".

those are my thoughts.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Yep, this was a terrible decision. Those player spotlights were always great to read all summer leading up to our drafts and auctions; the team spotlights are too muddled. I don't know whose decision it was to change it, but it was a really bad one.

 

[FF Ninja]

Yeah, it was a good concept that was doomed from the start. It forces people to think about the whole team so projections aren't ridiculous which is great, but the amount of up front work discourages almost anyone from trying. I like to pop in here for like 10-15 minutes at a time. I bet The Dirty Word spends at least an hour on those write ups, maybe several. And for what? If anyone replies, they just reply about one player. I think FBG pretty much gave up on the forum spotlight concept and this was just a half arsed effort to make it appear like they haven't abandoned it.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Couldn't individual posters start their own player spotlights if they were so inclined? It may not have the same cache of being "official" but would accomplish much of the same things.

 

[FF Ninja]

Couldn't individual posters start their own player spotlights if they were so inclined? It may not have the same cache of being "official" but would accomplish much of the same things.

Indeed. I was about to do that when Joe posted that official spotlight threads were about to be opened. Then these things started popping up.

 

[cheese]

I agree with the above and some of the best posts are now huge novels due to the format so I wonder if they are read as much as they used to be. It can be a little intimidating to chime in when the only posts are thorough team breakdowns that most don't have time to write.

Or maybe there are just fewer people doing their own projections these days, I don't know.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Total disappointment. I used to look those up all the time.

 

[TheDirtyWord]

I have to admit, I'm disappointed that these didn't work out...but the writing was on the wall. I thought I had made some suggestions that might have revitalized them but ultimately, I think FBG, perhaps more specifically Jason, was ready to do away with these.

Personally, I thought the team idea was executed poorly and from someone who did quite a few of the wriite-ups, FF Ninja was correct. They simply took alot more time to complete. An alternative way to have done this with a team focus might have been to keep the Individual Spotlights but focus on a division. Say the NFC South...and that weeks the spotlights would have been Brees, Colston, Cooks, Ryan, Julio, Roddy, Cam, etc...The next week, the NFC East.

Also, the first wave I believe was 6 teams...then the 2nd wave was the rest of the teams. That was another sign. Even during the bleak month of June when nothing is happening, topics can get to Page 2 quickly, and 26 of them going up at once probably contributed to lack of visibility.

I can see though why FBG's were on the fence to do it though. I think some of the contributions had started to become flippant and almost not worthwhile...when someone simply posts 85/1050/7, not much value in that. If FBG is on the hook for letting these fade away, I thought the engagement level of the Shark Pool with the PS threads had also declined.

Out with the old...

 

[Ted Mullins]

DirtyWord, you've definitely made some great contributions to those threads, thanks for that. I can't put my finger on exactly why but for fantasy purposes the spotlight threads being about individual players appeals to me far more than doing them by team - just fits the fantasy football atmosphere so much better IMO.

 

[Payne]

I miss the old way as well. Was one of my favorite things about the site. Somebody dropped the ball.

 

[Tau837]

What might have been a nice hybrid was to post a Team Spotlight thread, continue to post Player Spotlight threads, and then link to the team's Player Spotlight threads from the Team Spotlight thread. Then both options would have been available and it might even have encouraged more posting in the team threads.

 

[gbill2004]

Yep very bad decision. I find myself coming to this website much less this season, compared to the previous several years.

 

[Grahamburn]

Yep, this was a terrible decision. Those player spotlights were always great to read all summer leading up to our drafts and auctions; the team spotlights are too muddled. I don't know whose decision it was to change it, but it was a really bad one.

It depends on your point of view. If you own FBG's why would you want a bunch of information and quality fantasy analysis floating around your free forum?

 

[Adam Harstad]

Yep, this was a terrible decision. Those player spotlights were always great to read all summer leading up to our drafts and auctions; the team spotlights are too muddled. I don't know whose decision it was to change it, but it was a really bad one.

It depends on your point of view. If you own FBG's why would you want a bunch of information and quality fantasy analysis floating around your free forum?

The quality analysis on the forums has always served as a complement to FBGs' products, not a competitor. Joe and David have always envisioned the forums as a place where the best and brightest guys gather to discuss all aspects of fantasy football. The number of staffers who got their start as posters in the Shark Pool is a testament to its quality. There have been calls for years to require a subscription to post on the forums, or at the very least to make a subscribers-only forum, and FBGs brass has always been adamant that it's not happening. The Shark Pool isn't a threat to their business model, it's an incredible asset, and a chance to serve the entire fantasy community as a whole, not simply the ones who shell out the (totally worth it) $30 to get an Insider Pro subscription.

Edit: I've had a chance to have conversations with most of the staffers, and a shockingly high percentage of those conversations winds up being devoted to the Shark Pool. Everyone loves the forums and wants to keep them as great going forward as they have been for the past dozen years. A lot of mental energy gets devoted to how to make that happen. I'm obviously biased, but I think they're the best place on the internet for long-form discussions about fantasy football, and there's nothing else even close. As long as the NFL and fantasy football continue to exist, I dearly want that to remain true.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Yep, this was a terrible decision. Those player spotlights were always great to read all summer leading up to our drafts and auctions; the team spotlights are too muddled. I don't know whose decision it was to change it, but it was a really bad one.

It depends on your point of view. If you own FBG's why would you want a bunch of information and quality fantasy analysis floating around your free forum?

The quality analysis on the forums has always served as a complement to FBGs' products, not a competitor. Joe and David have always envisioned the forums as a place where the best and brightest guys gather to discuss all aspects of fantasy football. The number of staffers who got their start as posters in the Shark Pool is a testament to its quality. There have been calls for years to require a subscription to post on the forums, or at the very least to make a subscribers-only forum, and FBGs brass has always been adamant that it's not happening. The Shark Pool isn't a threat to their business model, it's an incredible asset, and a chance to serve the entire fantasy community as a whole, not simply the ones who shell out the (totally worth it) $30 to get an Insider Pro subscription.

Edit: I've had a chance to have conversations with most of the staffers, and a shockingly high percentage of those conversations winds up being devoted to the Shark Pool. Everyone loves the forums and wants to keep them as great going forward as they have been for the past dozen years. A lot of mental energy gets devoted to how to make that happen. I'm obviously biased, but I think they're the best place on the internet for long-form discussions about fantasy football, and there's nothing else even close. As long as the NFL and fantasy football continue to exist, I dearly want that to remain true.

The forums are the lifeblood of FBG. They feed the people into the subscription service. I like the content provided by the subscription but I'm here because of the forums.

There's little doubt that the inattention paid to the forums in the last two years (needs more policing, IMO) and this peculiar decision regarding the Player/Team Spotlights hasn't been particularly well thought out.

 

[Borden]

There is a bunch of issues with the SP in general that are just under the surface with this discussion. As someone who isn't part of the old guard I won't get into that though.

As for the Team Spotlight not working, I think the bigger problem is the search function. It's completely broken. I type in Julio Jones and get nothing even close to a Julio Jones thread or the Falcons Team Spotlight. Second, I have the Shark Pool main page as my FBG bookmark and basically I just scroll past the pinned threads at the top now. Most of them are white (read) and the Team Spotlight doesn't show the new post update. As perviously stated, to write anything in the team format it just feels like a daunting task to start. I also, want to thank DirtyWord for a lot of good effort. He does what I want to do but am too lazy to. On the flip side of that is it is a solid effort for me to sit down and read it all.

I hate when people at work give reasons they can't do something but don't even attempt to look for solutions. I will try to come up with solutions and I have zero doubt that anyone here will have a problem expressing their concerns with my ideas. First, fix the search bar to look for search words in the thread titled. If someone wants an advanced search for something then they can. Second, just bring back old spotlights. Next, get in contact with Faust and let him know to keep postings his news updates in the Spotlight threads. That will keep the Spotlights closer to the top of the page and likely used more often. On that note, pay Faust if you don't already . Finally, an "IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ" non-pinned thread from whoever on the FBG staff, with a reminder of what expectations for everyone on forum are. Maybe just have the first line read something like "Once you've read this message please post an 'In' or '10-4' on this thread." too. That way the thread stands a chance of being seen and reminds even after they read it.

These have no meaning but they are my favorites and I never use them.

 

[Adam Harstad]

The forums are the lifeblood of FBG. They feed the people into the subscription service. I like the content provided by the subscription but I'm here because of the forums.

There's little doubt that the inattention paid to the forums in the last two years (needs more policing, IMO) and this peculiar decision regarding the Player/Team Spotlights hasn't been particularly well thought out.

The switch to team spotlights has been something that's been debated for years, with one of the pros being the belief that it would produce better / more accurate projections. There was some discussion from Joe on the topic here. The idea seemed to be generally positively received (in theory, at least) before the threads went up. One of the concerns was the declining participation last year and what could be done to help revive interest. I'm sure after the season they'll look at this year's participation and make a decision that they think will work the best going forward.

As for policing, the "Report Post" button is super-helpful with that. The moderator can't see every post every time, and drawing staff attention to objectionable content makes it a lot easier for it to be found and dealt with as quickly as possible. The more eyes there are on the ground, the better.

 

[Adam Harstad]

As for the Team Spotlight not working, I think the bigger problem is the search function. It's completely broken. I type in Julio Jones and get nothing even close to a Julio Jones thread or the Falcons Team Spotlight.

If you click the little gear to the right of the search field it takes you to a search form where you can limit your search to titles only (as well as restrict which forums you want searched, specify date ranges, or any of a number of other advanced search options). Honestly, I've always found FBGs' search to be one of the quickest, smartest, most intuitive, and most accurate of any of the message boards I've been on, but they definitely could do a better job of advertising that "advanced options" page.

 

[jurb26]

The problem seem simple to me. The regular poster more often than not doesn't not have the time nor interest to provide a full team spotlight. As someone who does team projections, on my own and in a general sense, they are time consuming. Furthermore, as so done who has participated in some of the team threads taking that projection and then adding dialog to it is furthers the time commitment. If your not getting paid to do that, then it's simply not worth your time IMO. Staffers should be leading the charge with team projections because they are getting paid. Expecting regular posters, who the vast majority of which come here to receive that sort of information and not nessecarily provide it, is unrealistic.

 

[G5781]

Very disappointed this year with the switch in format. The individual spotlights were always a great resource to read about opinions of players in preparing for my drafts. There's been very low participation which has impacted my enjoyment/preparation for my drafts.

The last post in a team spotlight was from last Thursday the 14th. This has been a pretty disasterous outcome with the switch and hope they go back to the individual player format.

 

[butcher boy]

Bring back the player threads, but make a subforum to this one to house them all in.

 

[BigSeph]

I don't post here often but have been a member for a number of years.

One of the big attractions of FBG's SP forum was the player spotlights. They were consolidated under a single thread with all the links, and it was incredibly easy and efficient to use last time around.

I have no idea why it was scrapped, as many of the "lurkers" and infrequent posters were likely drawn to the forum if for no other reason than the Player Spotlights.

You got to take in the opinions of a diverse crowd of people, and in some of my drafts it did sway my decision-making, especially on mid-round players.

While people might say "well there just wasn't that much original content in those threads," there were still nuggets of golden wisdom on some of them, and that appeal AFAIAK is now gone from this forum.

I'd like to see them return in the format they were under, with individual player threads linked to on a sticked consolidated thread.

It's always a shame when something useful and informative is done away with on the internet, because there's so much worthless crap out there. 4,000 numbskulls with no clue about fantasy football have their own BR articles to sift through already when googling a player.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

Very disappointing not to see an official response from FBG on this.

 

[Biabreakable]

Well I am one of the people who suggested stream lining the process of player spotlights into a consolidated team spotlight thread. So if you all want someone to kick for this I strapped a few pillows on.

Personally I think doing team projections is more likely to be accurate than doing projections for any single player.

For example-

If you project 6 main players will catch a combined 30 touchdowns but only have the QB throwing for 24 touchdowns. Something is not right with that picture. But it is very for this to happen. Particularly if one uses per game stats without the context of the big picture.

At the same time doing projections by team can be a tedious and unrewarding task.

For me to do this well enough that it meets my expectations takes a long time. Especially explaining each detail (right or wrong) that went into the calculation process.

I also have been trying to be consistent in the process of these calculations, but not all processes fit every team or situation well.

One thing that I have been thinking more about this year is how people are using processes of projection meant for the short term, such as targets/snap for example and extrapolating those numbers into a full season, which leads to some serious errors and unrealistic outcomes in that context.

After investing many hours of time into this, for some situations (that interested me) I have done 5 to 7 different versions of those projections posted in different threads over the past few months. Most of those threads are not "official spotlight" threads, but the projections are there.

For me the ultimate goal of these is to encourage participation. I want to know what you all think. I already know what I think (kind of ).

To me it seems redundant to have so many different threads for each specific player when these threads do already exist. But if that is what the majority of the community wants? I am all for that if it leads to more participation.

I do not follow every team as closely as I follow some teams. So for some teams I do not feel as well about projecting those teams players as I do others. The situations which interest me the most are usually the ones that are in flux, or more uncertain than others. For team situations where there has not been as much change I expect for the most part more of the same, so I do not focus my attention to these teams/situations as much.

What I hear in many of the complaints about this however is from people not willing to contribute their time to the spotlight threads. So you are complaining that people are not willing to put forth the effort that you yourself are not willing to do?

Not sure what to say about that. It is disappointing. I wish more people would be willing to participate.